proper1 adjectiveproper2 adverb
properprop‧er1 /ˈprɒpə $ ˈprɑːpər/ ●●● S1 W2 adjective 
WORD ORIGINproper
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French propre, from Latin proprius ‘own’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Bill is a very proper young man.
- Higher math skills are not given proper attention in schools.
- I can't make the repairs without the proper tools or materials.
- It's the main road which links Santa Cruz proper and the mountains.
- It just wouldn't have been proper to not invite Jeff.
- We don't have a proper guest room, but you can have the sofa in the study.
- We need to put the books back in their proper place.
- When are you going to get a proper job?
- With proper training, most people can learn leadership skills.
- You can't climb a mountain without the proper equipment.
- Accounts by military and civilian air-traffic officials agreed the commercial airliner had received proper permission to traverse the zone.
- But, frankly, she wasn't a woman any more, not a proper woman.
- Hence, it is difficult to know when the proper consecutive item will appear.
- Not a menstrual period in the proper sense.
- Push him down the proper path.
- So, this firm might be able to come up with the proper lens.
- Ultimately this is a question as to the proper limits of self-determination, as well as turning on the specific lucidity of the individual patient.
- We will stop the wanton sale of school playing fields and ensure that sport takes its proper place within the curriculum.
THESAURUS
having the right qualities for a particular purpose or person: · a suitable place for a picnic· They don’t consider him a suitable husband for their daughter.
completely suitable in every way: · It’s a nice house, but it isn’t right for us.· We’ll tell her when the time is right.
suitable for a particular purpose. Appropriate is more formal than suitable: · She filled out all the appropriate forms.· It may not be an appropriate time to ask him about it.· It’s not appropriate to wear a short skirt for an interview.· the appropriate way to end a business letter
the proper tool, piece of equipment, or way of doing something is the one that most people think is most suitable: · You can’t change a wheel without the proper tools.· the proper procedure for hiring staff
if someone is suited to something, he or she has the right qualities to do it: · He’d be well suited to the job.
Longman Language Activatorhaving the qualities that make a particular type of person or thing real use this to emphasize that someone or something has the qualities that a particular kind of person or thing should have: · Jane's been a real friend to me over the years.· She's a real tomboy!· What the country needs now is a real leader.
someone who is a true friend, believer etc is not just pretending to be one and has all of the qualities that a friend, believer etc is supposed to have: · He was a good partner and a true friend to me.· Being a true Red Sox fan, he never missed a game.· She makes the dance look easy - the mark of a true professional.· True Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
British real and not something similar which is not as good: · When are you going to get a proper job?· We don't have a proper guest room, but you can have the sofa in the study.
suitable for a particular situation, job, purpose etc something or someone that is suitable is the right type of thing or person for a purpose, job, or situation: · I still haven't found a suitable job.· You must wear something suitable - preferably black.suitable for: · The house would be suitable for a large family.· Plants of this type are suitable for use in an aquarium.eminently suitable (=very suitable): · The property is centrally located and eminently suitable for our purposes.
suitable. Right is used more in informal language than suitable: · I don't know the right word to describe it.· We've been thinking about selling the house, but I'm not sure the time is right.· We all agree that Carey is the right person for the job.right for: · It's a good school, but it wasn't really right for Melissa.
suitable for a particular purpose or situation: · You can't climb a mountain without the proper equipment.· I can't make the repairs without the proper tools or materials.· With proper training, most people can learn leadership skills.
suitable for a situation or purpose - use this especially about something that has been carefully chosen for a particular situation: · You will be given your orders at the appropriate time.· Considering what he did, I think the punishment was appropriate.appropriate for: · Each member is given a special exercise routine that is appropriate for his or her needs
especially spoken very suitable for a purpose or job - use this especially when there are several suitable people or things to choose from: · Bates would be a good person to have on the team.· Would now be a good time to discuss the plans for the conference? good for: · The big jars are good for storing rice or pasta.
something that suits a person, purpose, situation etc is suitable for them: · This is a job that would suit someone with a lot of experience abroad.· They found us a house close to the campus, which suited us very well.suit somebody's needs: · Make sure you choose a computer that suits your needs.suit somebody fine/well/perfectly: · The weather here suits me fine.
if someone or something is suited to a situation, purpose, or job they have the qualities that make them suitable for it: · Wearing a suit and tie just is not suited to a tropical climate.· Do you think his personality is suited to a career in teaching?ideally/well/perfectly suited to something: · The electric car is well suited to the needs of city drivers.
if someone is cut out for a particular job, they have personal qualities that are suitable for it and are therefore likely to succeed at it - use this especially in questions and negative sentences: · Maybe he's just not cut out for an acting career.· She knew she was cut out for more than scrubbing floors and doing laundry.
if something lends itself to being used in a particular way, it has qualities that make it easy and suitable for using in that way: · Many of his poems lend themselves to songs very easily.· The marshy land at the mouth of the Neva River hardly lent itself to habitation.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
Everything was in its proper place (=where it should be). the proper way to clean your teeth The proper name for Matthew’s condition is hyperkinetic syndrome. It is only right and proper that an independent inquiry should take place. When are you going to settle down and get a proper job? Try to eat proper meals instead of fast-food takeaways.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The Consumers’ Association blames poor hygiene standards. a very prim and proper young lady
Everything was in its proper place (=where it should be). the proper way to clean your teeth The proper name for Matthew’s condition is hyperkinetic syndrome. It is only right and proper that an independent inquiry should take place. When are you going to settle down and get a proper job? Try to eat proper meals instead of fast-food takeaways.· With sport, you have to find the right balance between competition and fun.
(=big and healthy)· I think kids need a good breakfast before they go to school.
(=feel very stupid)
(=correct/incorrect behaviour according to the normal rules or standards)· There was no evidence of improper conduct on the part of the police.
(=the necessary and suitable consideration)· A lot of building took place without due consideration for the effect it would have on the area.
· Has there been proper consultation with the local communities?
· Students don’t always eat a sensible diet.
The Consumers’ Association blames poor hygiene standards.· Companies have a legal responsibility to take adequate precautions against fire.
· You cannot go on a dangerous trip like this without adequate preparation.
a very prim and proper young lady· What's the correct procedure for applying for a grant?
· Frank Norris has never received proper recognition as a great novelist.
· Failure to maintain proper records would be a criminal offence.
· The aim is to get the job done as cheaply as possible, with due regard to high standards.
(=suitable)· ‘I want proper respect,’ said Mother.
· Why had the parents not provided adequate supervision?
· They lacked any real understanding of the subject.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· The other part of my proposal will probably prove annoying to radicals, thereby ensuring a proper balance.· There was also an environmental objective - to maintain a proper balance between human needs and the natural environment.· The Amendment, itself, strikes the proper balance between federal and state authority.· You scratch your heads in selection, and can't find a proper balance with less than 12.· The future for the advanced industrial countries lies increasingly in a proper balance between manufacturing and the service sector.· In order to maintain a proper balance in your life, you must be prepared to allocate some time to yourself each day.· Seemingly, two separate conditions must be satisfied to achieve proper balance.
· Voice over Mrs Hayward can now look forward to proper care for the rest of her life.· By 1970, lawmakers were hearing disturbing reports that patients were not getting proper care in their communities.· It is plain that the solicitors' claim was not prepared with proper care.· With proper care, the chicken grows.· Instead, wardrobes should be planned seriously and with proper care.· Still, with proper care a man could be quite fairly at ease with them.· The tenant must take proper care of the place.· It provides technical instruction on the proper care of marijuana plants.
· A case that is considered thoroughly is looked at in the round and all the relevant factors are taken into proper consideration.· Our amendments do not get proper consideration on Report or in Committee if there is a timetable motion.· We are talking about a terminus in the heart of a great city and some proper consideration should be given to that.· Tax law should not be introduced without proper consideration of the commercial fundamentals.· Serious difficulties can arise when a contract is varied without proper consideration of the effect of the variation on the expert clause.· We need proper consideration of the very constructive alternative proposals we have put forward.· Governors should take any grievance relating to employment very seriously and give proper consideration to it through a fair grievance procedure.· I have been stuck here and have not received it, but I shall, of course, give it proper consideration.
· Just because she's never had a proper job.· Establish proper job descriptions for low-level supervisors at the plant, and link compensation to performance for frontline supervisors.· It hasn't given people proper jobs.· Other men's wives did proper jobs once the children were off their hands.· It is often the proper job of authorities to issue directives for this purpose.· It was all something to do with their thinking he didn't have a proper job, so they said.· I don't have a proper job so I don't earn much money.· Now he writes computer software for the National Blind League but needs a proper job.
· Have at least one proper meal a day, hot if possible.· I know it ain't much, but I du n no if it's enough to get a proper meal like.· I don't see why we can't have a proper meal after a do.
· When we're among ourselves we call it by its proper name, which is poliomyelitis.· It solves some of the puzzles mentioned for proper names.· Many will never be known for many lived and died without a proper name.· The front of the temporal lobe is thought to be involved with storing biographical information and proper names.· First, proper name and noun are different description types, serving different functions.· No, but patients occasionally complain afterward that they have more trouble with proper names than with memories in general.· Whatever reading one gives to the three proper names, the inscription suggests that the collection was a gift.· In Rome her proper name was Fauna or Damia, and her nocturnal orgiastic ceremonies were restricted to women.
· There are 60 grammatical categories specified within this lexicon indicating such properties as transitive verb, plural noun, proper noun etc.· Answer: a. Why: Use hyphens with a prefix and a proper noun.· The facility to add more words to the lexicon should also be considered, especially for proper nouns and technical terms.· Their problem is with proper nouns, not ordinary nouns.· Another quarter of the omissions arose from previously unseen proper nouns.· A text for students devoted seven pages to the use of a capital letter to indicate a proper noun.
· I never thought of you as a proper person before.· Once the court is satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person, a protection order may be granted.
· Advantageous as that is in its proper place it would be disastrous if such numbers turned up as eigenvalues.· She demanded strict ritual performances from them, a proper place to live, sacrificial objects and so on.· Certainly, these are important highlights and should be given their proper place and emphasis in the narrative.· It all comes back to putting technology in its proper place - wherever you are.· Encouraging and enabling the laity to take their proper place in the Church?· These were difficult and unsettled times, when people needed to be reminded about their proper place and duties.· But a healthy faith should include them all, and it should have each of them in its proper place.· This prevents any stitches becoming snagged and broken causing the filling to shift from its proper place.
· Process accountability - accountability for following proper procedures. 3.· Law students tend to become more concerned with matters of proper procedure and exhibit an increased tendency to reason by analogy.· They keep wanting to supply goods without going through the proper procedures.· He ordered that a memorandum explaining the proper procedure be prepared and circulated to service commands.· Crucially, therefore, causal explanation is the proper procedure when we engage in natural science but not elsewhere.· It is not the proper procedure for anyone trying to make sense of other areas of social life.· Decision: the court had made a recommendation for deportation without following the proper procedure and without inviting either counsel to assist.
· The proper role of age in clinical decision-making is controversial.· As a consequence of this fact it is possible to delineate the proper role of the congregation in the eucharistic prayer.· But this assumption rests on a contestable value judgment about the proper role of the judiciary in controlling the government.· Presently they begin to believe that these are their proper roles and become upset when challenged.· The limits of what had formerly been considered the proper role of the state had changed.· While popular, such bills raise serious questions about the proper role of government, Kyl said.· Innocent was in no doubt as to the proper roles of kings and emperors.· What was the proper role of the director in a truly egalitarian company of women?
· The finite age of the universe is measured in proper time.· But, between any moment of proper time and the c-boundary, an infinite amount of information-processing is possible.· Putting this more precisely, the proper time taken by light to pass to and fro between two fixed points in spaces oscillates.· One wonders how many of one's own mental defects result from lack of the appropriate experience at the proper time!· We have always suggested that the proper time to rise is after 10 o'clock.· It is an important aspect of proper time management.
· But if they were used only after proper training and in self-defence, how can that be construed as unprovoked aggression?· There are, however, proper training agencies and reputable bodies.· You must use the proper equipment, get the proper training to do jobs.· They can be inculcated only as part of proper training.· It is in these situations that proper training could make the difference between possible success and unfortunate failure.· Given proper training, always a useful sideline for any dealer, these packages can achieve most requirements for office publishing.· We shall ensure that all staff receive proper training and are required to uphold the principles of this Code.· He emphasizes the need for proper training for people in both new types of job.
· He may find himself liable for taxes that proper understanding would have enabled him to avoid.· A proper understanding of the role of intention in trusts must therefore come from other texts.· It is the proper understanding of this relationship and the nature and application of energy that is crucial to scientific cleaning.· A proper understanding of some one's way of life and their special needs may take time.· A proper understanding of this aspect will allow you to create your own ideas much more easily and effectively.· A proper understanding of the history of the surface of the Earth is not the least of them.· It is unfortunate that the authors avoid mathematical formulae which are essential for a proper understanding of the experiments.
· To ensure the care, custody and proper use of standards and equipment allocated.· They can make no proper use of either, of course, yet there they remain, always there.· Fiscal accountability - accountability for the proper use of public money. 2.· But the proper use of mifepristone requires three visits to a physician or clinic over a period of about 15 days.· With proper use of a database this is easy, with benefits directly on the bottom line.· After all, the key to the proper use of statistical analysis is the correct identification of levels of measurement.· As McClellan constantly stresses, the interpretation of logistic information is crucial to its proper use.· Most think anyone who wants to buy a gun should have to attend a clinic on proper use.
· We should be told that we must stop the Trident programme, because that is the proper way of doing things.· What special interests out there thought threats, harassment and intimidation were the proper ways to pass a tough, controversial bill?· The proper way to enter the Adour valley from the west is via the Col du Tourmalet, provided it is open.· Chemehuevi high-school students researched the proper way to build a traditional house.· But we'd have stopped him, the proper way.· In Steve Jobs's mind, the proper way to move a cursor was with the mouse.· We left the station in the proper way, along the railway.· After a few weeks of that we were headed for New York in the proper way, by bus.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1[only before noun] right, suitable, or correct: - Please dress in a way proper to the occasion.
- She was madam, all right, a proper little madam.
Everything was in its proper place (=where it should be). the proper way to clean your teeth The proper name for Matthew’s condition is hyperkinetic syndrome.► see thesaurus at suitable2socially or legally correct and acceptable OPP improperit is proper (for somebody) to do something I don’t feel that it would be proper for me to give you that information. It is only right and proper that an independent inquiry should take place.3[only before noun] British English spoken real, or of a good and generally accepted standard SYN decent, real American English: When are you going to settle down and get a proper job? Try to eat proper meals instead of fast-food takeaways.4[only after noun] the real or main part of something, not other parts before, after, or near to it: The friendly chat which comes before the interview proper is intended to relax the candidate. the city centre proper5proper to something formal a)belonging to one particular type of thing: the reasoning abilities proper to our species b)suitable for something: dressed in a way that was proper to the occasion6[only before noun] British English spoken complete SYN real: He’s made a proper fool of himself this time!7very polite, and careful to do what is socially correct: She was very formal and proper. → properlyproper1 adjectiveproper2 adverb
properproper2 adverb British English spoken EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- The machine operators had not been properly trained.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES The Consumers’ Association blames poor hygiene standards. a very prim and proper young lady
· With sport, you have to find the right balance between competition and fun.
(=big and healthy)· I think kids need a good breakfast before they go to school.
(=feel very stupid)
(=correct/incorrect behaviour according to the normal rules or standards)· There was no evidence of improper conduct on the part of the police.
(=the necessary and suitable consideration)· A lot of building took place without due consideration for the effect it would have on the area.
· Has there been proper consultation with the local communities?
· Students don’t always eat a sensible diet.
The Consumers’ Association blames poor hygiene standards.· Companies have a legal responsibility to take adequate precautions against fire.
· You cannot go on a dangerous trip like this without adequate preparation.
a very prim and proper young lady· What's the correct procedure for applying for a grant?
· Frank Norris has never received proper recognition as a great novelist.
· Failure to maintain proper records would be a criminal offence.
· The aim is to get the job done as cheaply as possible, with due regard to high standards.
(=suitable)· ‘I want proper respect,’ said Mother.
· Why had the parents not provided adequate supervision?
· They lacked any real understanding of the subject.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1good and proper completely: - Now, eight years after the original bike was launched, Ducati has addressed the issue good and proper.
- We got our revenge on Kel for 1960 good and proper, and no one else was in it.
- Well, they both got it around in 75 and the crowd was on Seve's side good and proper.
- She was madam, all right, a proper little madam.
We beat 'em good and proper.2used by some people to mean properly, although most people think that this is incorrect